She's back! Anna van der Breggen scouts out 2025 World Championship route in search of third rainbow jersey

Two time World champion and cycling legend Anna van der Breggen will be making her dramatic return to the sport next year. After the years sitting on the sidelines, the 4 time Giro d’Italia winner will return with the ambition of winning the yellow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes.

The 34 year old will join Team SD Worx-Protime, and has recently been scouting at next year’s World Championship road race in Rwanda. Van der Breggen’s two world titles came in 2018 and 2020, and she aims to win back the title currently held by fellow two time world champion, Lotte Kopecky.

If she’s able to come back into the pro peloton and return immediately to her best, there’s no reason she can’t claim her third rainbow jersey. But three year’s is a long time out of the professional game, the question is where it is too long?

When Van der Breggen goes for glory at the World Championships in Rwanda next year, the new Dutch national coach for the women’s national team will be Laurens ten Dam. Whilst he was not present during Van der Breggen’s ride of the world championship circuit, he will hope to play a crucial role Rwanda next year.

The sheer amount of elevation during the road race could play in to Van der Breggen’s favour, but it will also play into the favour of her teammate, and 2023 Tour de France Femmes champion, Demi Vollering. Vollering was criticized in the Dutch press for her performance at the 2024 road race in Zurich, and it will be interesting to see how she work’s with Anna van der Breggen as a teammate. On paper, it’s a super team, but how will the dynamics work when two superstars are racing towards the same goal?

We saw at the Olympics this year the Belgium team won gold with Remco Evenepoel, with the help of their other superstar Wout van Aert. If the Dutch do win the rainbow jersey next year, which of their star female riders will play the role of Evenepoel, and which will play the role of Van Aert?